Automatic alarm mechanism for timepiece



JEAN*CLAUDE SCHNEIDER Aug. 12, 1969 AUTOMATIC ALARM MECHANISM FOR TIMEPIECE Filed Nov. 28. 1966 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Aug. 12, 1969 JEAN-CLAUDE SCHNEIDER AUTOMATIC ALARM MECHANISM FOR TIMEPIEGE Filed'Nov. '28. 1966' 3' Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 28. 1966 AUTOMATIC ALARM MECHANISM FOR TIMEPIECE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG. .4-

IIIII/ United States Patent 3,460,339 AUTOMATIC ALARM MEQHANKSM FOR TIMEPIECE Jean-Claude Schneider, Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, as-

signor to Fabrique dHorlogerie Chs. Tissot et Fills S.A., Le Locle, Neuchatel, Switzerland, a Swiss company limited by shares Filed Nov. 28, 1966, Ser. No. 597,389 Claims priority, application Switzerland, Dec. 14, 1965, 17,199/65, 17,209/65 Int. Cl. Gil-4b 23/08 U.S. Cl. 5817 12 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An alarm mechanism for a timepiece adapted to be automatically sounded every twenty-four hours and having delay means selectively rendering said alarm mechanism inactive for multiples of twenty-four hours.

The present invention is directed to an alarm mechanism for a timepiece, especially those adapted to run for a number of days, such as the eight day clocks, wherein the alarm mechanism is automatically sounded every twenty-four hours.

So called eight day alarm clocks are well known wherein the alarm mechanism is automatically sounded every twenty-four hours and wherein the alarm mechanism may be deactivated so as not to sound any alarm at all. The known alarm mechanisms, however, once deactivated, rnust be reset in order to assure the sounding of the alarm at a successive twenty-fourphour period. The present invention, on the other hand, is directed to an alarm mechanism which, although deactivated, will still automatically sound the alarm at the recurrence of the twenty-four hour period at which it is desired to have the alarm ring. Specifically, the present invention is directed to an alarm mechanism which may be deactivated for a number of days, one, two, or three, and which will then automatically reactivate itself without any resetting action on the part of the user.

In known timepieces of this type, the alarm will ring for a period of time and then automatically shut itself 01f unless the user does so at some point after the alarm starts to ring. The known mechanisms which provide this automatic shutting off feature are, however, relatively complex. The present invention, therefore, is also directed to an alarm mechanism which provides this automatic shutting off feature but which is less complex and correspondingly more reliable than known alarm mechanisms.

Other objects are inherent in the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, which description is referred to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURES 1, 2, and 3 are plan views of the preferred embodiment, each view respectively showing a different disposition of the operating parts corresponding to respective operating conditions thereof;

FIGURE 4 is a partial sectional view taken along line IVIV in FIGURE 1; and,

FIGURE 5 is a partial sectional view taken along line V-V in FIGURE 3.

The disclosed alarm mechanism is part of a timepiece movement which comprises a main frame plate 1, a bridge 2 and a dial support 3 each axially spaced from said plate on opposite sides thereof.

Wheel 4 (FIGURES 1 and 4) pivots on staff 6 which is rigidly mounted in bridge 2. Pinion 5 is coaxially mounted relative to wheel 4 and is drivingly connected to the latter via a Breguet toothing 16. Wheel 4 includes a peripheral toothing 7 which actuates the alarm ringing or "ice sounding means. An alarm spring (not shown), therefore, actuates pinion 5 which in turn drives wheel 4 through Breguet toothing 16, and wheel 4 actuates the alarm ringing means. It is seen, therefore, that pinion 5 and wheel 4 comprise parts of an alarm sounding means.

A series of spaced studs 8 having a semi-circular shape project axially from a radial face of wheel 4 and are adapted to receive therebetween the hook end 9' of blocking arm 9, said arm being rigid with shaft 10 which in turn is pivotally mounted between bridge 2 and plate 1 and extends upwardly through plate 1 to provide a support pin 11 at its upper end located between plate =1 and dial support 3. A jumper arm 12 is rigidly mounted on pin 11 and includes pivot means 13 pivotally mounted in dial support 3. Stud 14 projects downwardly from the radial face of jumper arm 12 and provides an abutment surface for one end of spring wire 15 which is wound around shaft 10.

With reference to FIGURE 1, it is seen that spring 15 resiliently bears against stud '14 and thereby urges shaft 10 and its rigidly conected member 12 and 9 in a counterclockwise direction whereby hook end 9' of arm 9 is engaged in the space between two studs 8 and thereby blocks wheel 4 from rotating. In order for the alarm to be sounded, therefore, it is necessary that arm 9 be pivoted clockwise to an extent whereby hook end 9' disengages from between studs 8 and thereby frees wheel 4 for rotation under urging of the not shown alarm spring acting through pinion 5 and Brequet toothing 16. Conversely, said arm 9 serves to deactivate, or shut off, the arm when its hook end 9' is engaged between any two of studs 8.

Jumped arm 12 also comprises a hook end 17 (FIGURE 1) which engages between teeth 18 and 19 on a gear sector member 20, which serves as a release means for releasing blocking arm 9 relative to wheel 4, said member 20 being rigid with pivot shaft 21 which is pivotally supported in support 3 plate 1. Also rigid with shaft 21 is an arcuate arm 22 located axially above sector 20. As is seen in FIGURE 5, the free end portion 22' of arm 22 is axially offset relative to the remainder of said arm and extends axially into a slot 23 in dial support 3. A dial plate (not shown) covers dial support 3 and conceals slot 23 except for a window 24 in said dial plate through which the upper surface of portion 22' is visible. Said portion 22' has inscribed on its upper surface the digits 1, 2, 3 and arm 22 is pivotable about the axis of shaft 21 so that either of said digits or the blank portion preceding digit 1 are successively visible through window 24.

The rigid assembly of sector 20, arm 22, and shaft 21 are yieldingly held in fixed position by virtue of hook end 17 of jumper 12 being engaged between either pair of teeth 18 and 19, 19 and 25, 25 and 26, or 26 and 27 on the sector 20. When hook end 17 is engaged between teeth 18 and 19, the blank portion preceding the digit 1 on the upper surface of portion 22 will be visible through window 24, while with hook end 17 engaged between either of the successive pairs of teeth, the digits 1, 2, or 3, respectively, will be visible.

The alarm mechanism further includes a timing means which comprises connecting lever 28 having arms 36 and 30 projecting from pivot shaft 29 which serves to pivotally mount said lever between plate 1 and support 3. Arm 30 (FIGURES 1, 4, and 5) extends in a radial plane below jumper arm 12 and includes an axially extending stud 31 at its end which serves as an abutment surface for the other end of spring 15, it being recalled that the first end of said spring bears against stud 14 on jumper arm 12. Stud 31 extends axially from the lower face of said arm 30 while a spur 32 extends axially from its upper face. Said spur 32 includes an inclined upper face 33 and a vertical side 34 (FIGURE 5) so that when lever 28 pivots clockwise, from the position of FIGURE 1 to that shown in FIGURE 2, vertical side 34 abuts against tooth 19 on sector 20 and thereby urges said sector to pivot counterclockwise. Tooth 18 thereby slides along the surface of hook end 17 and urges jumper arm 12 clockwise together with arm 9, so that sector 20 and arms 9 and 12 end up in the FIGURE 2 position wherein hook end 9' of arm 9 is disengaged from between any of the studs 8 on wheel 4, said wheel being thereby free to rotate and to actuate the alarm ringing means. In this regard, it should be noted that tooth 18 is higher than any of the other teeth 19, 25, 26, or 27, the height of tooth 18 being sufficient to cause hook end 9' to completely disengage from between studs 8 but the height of the other teeth not being sufficient to bring about this same result.

Pivoting of connecting lever 28 is controlled by timing cam 35 which has a spiral shaped cam surface 35 whose ends are joined by a radially extending shoulder 42. Cam 35 rotates clockwise one revolution every twenty-four hours by a runner of the timepiece movement. Arm 36 of lever 28 is resiliently urged against surface 35 by virtue of the end of spring 15 hearing against stud 31 on arm 30. Cam 35 can be oriented as desired in a known manner in order to set the time of day which the alarm is to be sounded, said time of day corresponding to arm 36 sliding radially along shoulder 42.

The alarm mechanism further comprises a control lever 37 pivotally mounted at 38 between dial support 3 and plate 1. A spring Wire 39 resiliently urgeslever 37 in a counter clockwise direction while said lever is pivotable in a clockwise direction by means of a pushbutton (not shown) which is accessible to the user. Actuation of said pushbutton and consequent clockwise pivoting of lever 37, brings the driving nose end 40 at the lower end of said lever against one of the teeth on sector 20 thereby pivoting said sector clockwise one step for each push on the button, a said step corresponding to the arcuate distance between successive teeth on sector 20.

As is evident from FIGURES 2 and 5, when nose 40 moves to a position at which it abuts against tooth 19 on sector 20, the inclined lower surface 41 of said nose will also slide against the upper edge of spur 32 and will push axially downward against said spur to displace said spur to beneath the lower edge of the sector teeth whereby said spur does not block the sector from pivoting, said sector in fact being pivoted one step by nose 40 (from the position shown in FIGURE 2) with tooth 19 sliding over and pressing downwardly against said spur.

As the sector 20 is pivoting closkwise under urging of nose 40 on lever 37, the teeth on the sector slide along the periphery of hook end 17 and thereby pivot jumper arm 12 clockwise against the urging of spring 15. In this regard, it should be noted that spur 32 is substantially along the same vertical axis with hook end 17 when the lever 28 is in the position shown in FIGURE 1 and, in any event, spur 32 and hook end 17 are alway aligned so as to engage in the same tooth gap on sector 20.

With the lever 37 having, therefore, advanced sector 20 one step, lever 28 will still be in the position shown in FIGURE 2 while jumper arm 12 and sector 20 will both be in the positions shown in FIGURE 1. During the next twenty-four hours of operation, lever 28 will again return to its FIGURE 1 position as a result of the rotation of cam 35 and spur 32 will slide from beneath tooth 19 into the tooth gap 18-19.

Whatever is the orientation of cam 35, lever 37 may be pivoted clockwise through pressing upon the not shown push button which results in nose 40 engaging the toothing on sector 20, disengagement of spur 32 from said toothing, and clockwise pivoting of said sector. Hook 17 on jumper arm 12 and spur 32 then pass or jump from between one pair of teeth on the sector 20 to a position for engagement between the next pair of teeth, and the next higher digit on arm portion 22 becomes visible in window 24. It should be noted that the jump effected by hook 17 along the sector tooth 19 occurs while hook end 9' remains engaged between studs 8 since tooth 19 is not high enough to pivot arm 12 sufficiently to bring about complete disengagement of hook end 9' from between studs 8. The alarm, therefore, is not sounded.

FIGURE 3 illustrates the relationship of parts when hook 17 on jumper arm 12 is engaged between sector teeth 26 and 27. At this point, digit 3 is visible in window 24 and arm 36 is about to begin sliding radially along shoulder 42. As soon as arm 36 in fact slides along shoulder 42, spur 32 on arm 30 will urge sector 20 counterclockwise and hook 17 will engage between teeth 25 and 26 without the alarm sounding and with digit 2 appearing in window 24. During the following twentyfour hours, lever 28 will pivot gradually in counterclockwise direction, the sector 20 being held in place by the hook 17 which is engaged in the tooth gap 25-26, and the inclined upper face 33 of the spur 32 will slide against the side of the tooth 26 which will cause axial displacement of the spur 32 to beneath the lower edge of tooth 26. At the completion of the twenty-four hours, the cam 35 is again in the position shown in FIGURE 3, the spur 32 will have slid along the lower face of tooth 26 and will again be located immediately below the hook 17, that is to say, within the tooth gap 25-26. The subsequent clockwise pivoting of the lever 28 will then cause spur 32 to act upon tooth 26 to pivot sector 20 counterclockwise another step and thereby cause book 17 to jump into the tooth gap 19-25 while the digit 1 will appear in the window 24. During the next twenty-four hours, as lever 28 again is pivoted counterclockwise by cam 35, spur 32 slides along the lower face of tooth 25 and eventually jumps into tooth gap 19-25. Subsequently, when arm 36 again slides radially along shoulder 42, spur 32 will again pivot sector 20 one step counterclockwise to bring hook end 17 into tooth gap 18-19, and the blank area preceding digit 1 will appear in window 24. It will be another twenty-four hours later, or three days from the position shown in FIGURE 3, that the jump of arm 36 along shoulder 42 will cause tooth 18 to slide along the edge of hook 17 and thereby pivot jumper 12 sufficiently to disengage hook 9' from between studs 8 and thereby release the alarm ringing means.

The displacements of the sector 20 in clockwise direction are limited by a pin 43. When this sector is in contact with the pin 43 (FIGURE 3), a pressure exerted on the push button which pivots the lever 37 has no effect, and in fact, the nose 40 of this lever would merely abut against the tooth 27 of the sector 20.

The present invention includes a very simple and highly reliable automatic alarm shutting off device, as follows.

FIGURE 2 illustrates the alarm ringing position of the parts in that tooth 18, which is of greater height than any of the other sector teeth, is pressing jumper arm 12 clockwise to such an extent that hook end 9' is disengaged from between studs 8. The alarm can now be manually shut off simply by the user pushing on the aforementioned not shown push button which pivots lever 37 clockwise, and which in turn advances sector 20 one step clockwise. This releases tooth 18 from jumper arm 12 and hook end 9' thereby re-engages between studs 8 and thereby stops the alarm ringing means.

If, on the other hand, lever 37 is not manually actuated as aforedescribed, it would be expected that the alarm would ring without stopping. This, however, does not occur because the continual rotation of cam 35 and consequent counterclockwise pivoting of lever 28 results in spur 32 gradually moving away from tooth 19 whereby said spur releases sector 20 for some clockwise pivoting.

the surface of sector tooth 18 and into the tooth gap 18-19. In other words, as lever 28 pivots from its position of FIGURE 2 towards its position shown in FIGURE 1, spur 32 moves counterclockwise away from the side of tooth 19 and correspondingly releases sector 20 for gradual clockwise pivoting, this in turn releasing jumper arm 12 for gradual counterclockwise pivoting.

Less than three hours after the alarm has begun to sound (FIGURE 2), lever 28 will have pivoted sufficiently counterclockwise so as to bring about the automatic shutting off thereof. From this point onward, continued rotation of cam 35 for the remainder of the twentyfour hour period merely has the effect of bringing hook end 17 deeper into tooth gap 18-19 and hook end 9' deeper between studs 8.

The herein disclosed alarm mechanism provides for automatic resounding of the alarm every twenty-four hours starting with the parts being in the positions shown in FIGURE 1. From this position, the parts will move to the position of FIGURE 2 at which time the alarm is being sounded. The alarm is then manually shut off via lever 37 or automatically shut off within less than three hours via the normal action of lever 28. In any event, every twenty-four hours the sequence of FIGURES 1 and 2 is repeated automatically, without the necessity of any manual resetting of the alarm mechanism. The only thing which prevents the alarm from sounding every twentyfour hours is actuation of lever 37 by the aforementioned not shown push button whereby sector 20 is advanced to have digits 1, 2, or 3 appear in window 24, the alarm reringing being delayed a number of days corresponding to each digit. Of course, after the delay period has run out and the alarm sounds, the mechanism again automatically sounds the alarm every twenty-four hours unless the user resets it via lever 37 for another delay period.

The pinion 5 of the alarm ringing device can be driven by various means, including, for example, a separate alarm spring which could be held in cocked position by lever arm 9. Said alarm spring could be provided with an amount of reserve winding such that said winding would run out and thereby stop wheel 4 even before the approximate three hour period required for lever 28 to automatically shut off the alarm ringing.

Instead of being provided with a five-tooth toothing and with the arcuate arm 22, the sector 20 could also in other embodiments be formed in different manner and have more than five teeth or only have two operating positions, a locking position and a release position. In still another embodiment, the mechanism for sounding the alarm could be formed in such a manner that the connecting member acts directly on the stop member and so that the control member 37 acts simultaneously on these two parts.

The disclosed arrangement is independent of the manner of driving the alarm ringing mechanism. The energy necessary to actuate the ringing mechanism hammer can come either directly or indirectly from the main spring, or from an auxiliary spring capable of being wound for one or two weeks, or else by some other energy generating mechanism.

It is to be understood, for example, that cam surface 35 could be so configured as to bring about locking engagement of hook end 9 between studs 8 at any desired time (not necessarily three hours) after the alarm starts ringing pursuant to arm 36 sliding along shoulder 42. It should be further understood that the engagement of hook end 9' between studs 8 is not absolutely essential in order to realize a shutting off of the alarm since hook end 9 merely locks wheel 4 against further rotation but said wheel 4 can also be stopped and the alarm therefore can be shut off under action of the means which drive said wheel 4 while hook end 9 is disengaged from between studs 8. It has already been mentioned, for example, that wheel 4 is driven by an alarm spring acting through pinion 5. Said spring, which is not shown in the drawings,

will unwind as wheel 4 rotates and can be rewound by the movement action only when wheel 4 is stopped. Therefore, it is possible, for example, to provide an alarm spring which will become unwound so that the alarm stops ringing within fifteen minutes after wheel 4 has been released by hook end 9'. At the end of the fifteen minutes the alarm would stop ringing simply because the alarm spring had become unwound but wheel 4 would still be unlocked relative to hook end 9 so that said spring would not begin to be rewound by the movement until the Wheel 4 again becomes locked by virtue of hook end 9' engaging between studs 8. Cam surface 35, therefore, merely determines how long, after the occurrence of the condition of FIGURE 1, it will be before wheel 4 becomes locked to permit re-winding of the not shown alarm spring. As a practical preference this time should be between one and three hours. The actual time the alarm rings will depend upon the alarm spring excepting, of course, when the alarm is manually shut off through actuation of lever 37 via the not shown pushbutton, as aforedescribed.

What is claimed is:

1. An automatic alarm mechanism for a timepiece, comprising: an alarm sounding means and a control means for blocking said sounding means and for periodically automatically releasing same for sounding an alarm, said control means comprising: a blocking means for blocking said sounding means, a release means associated with said blocking means for releasing said blocking means from blocking engagement with said sounding means, a timing means adapted to be driven by the timepiece movement and drivingly associated with said release means for automatically actuating said release means to release said blocking means in accordance with the termination of a specified period of time of operation of said movement, said blocking means comprising a pivoted blocking lever means pivotable between first and second positions respectively corresponding to said lever means being in release and blocking positions relative to said sounding means, said release means comprising a pivoted member drivingly engaged with said lever means and also pivotable between first and second positions, respectively corresponding to the said release and blocking positions of said lever means, means normally urging said lever means towards said blocking position thereof relative to said sounding means, said timing means being drivingly associated with said pivoted member to pivot same from said second to said first positions thereof at the occurrence of the termination of every said specified period of time, return means to return said pivoted member to said second position thereof at a specified interval subsequent to the pivoting of same to said first position thereof, said timing means comprising a cam means adapted tobe driven by the timepiece movement, said cam means including a cam surface drivingly associated with said release means pivoted member, said cam surface being so configured that at the termination of each said specified period of time said release means pivoted member pivots into said first position thereof, and said cam configuration being such that at a specified interval subsequent to said release means member pivoting into said first position said cam drives said member into said second position thereof, means urging said pivoted member to move in conformity with the configuration of said cam surface, said cam being a rotary cam and said cam surface comprising a spiral circumferential surface having two radially aligned ends joined by a radially extending shoulder, a two-armed connecting lever between said cam and said release means member, one arm of said lever being in sliding Contact with said cam surface and the other arm thereof being in driving engagement with said release means member, yieldable means continuously urging said one arm against said cam surface, said one arm being slidable in a radial direction along said shoulder under urging of said yieldable means, sliding of said one arm along said shoulder corresponding to said other arm driving said release means member from said second to said first positron thereof.

2. The mechanism of claim 1, said cam surface being such that subsequent to said one arm sliding along said shoulder, said surface drives said one arm in a direction opposite to that in which said one arm slides along said surface under urging of said yieldable means.

3. An automatic alarm mechanism for a timepiece, comprising: an alarm sounding means and a control means for blocking said sounding means and for periodically automatically releasing same for sounding an alarm, said control means comprising: a blocking means for blocking said sounding means, a release means associated with said blocking means for releasing said blocking means from blocking engagement with said sounding means, a timing means adapted to be driven by the timepiece movement and drivingly associated with said release means for automatically actuating said release means to release said blocking means in accordance with the termination of a specified period of time of operation of said movement, said blocking means comprising a pivoted blocking lever means pivotable between first and second positions respectively corresponding to said lever means being in release and blocking positions relative to said sounding means, said release means comprising a pivoted member drivingly engaged with said lever means and also pivotable between first and second positions, respectively corresponding to the said release and blocking positions of said lever means, means normally urging said lever means towards said blocking position thereof relative to said sounding means, said timing means being drivingly associated with said pivoted member to pivot same from said second to said first positions thereof at the occurrence of the termination of every said specified period of time, return means to return said pivoted member to said second position thereof at a specified interval subsequent to the pivoting of same to said first position thereof, including a delay means to prevent said release means pivoted member from pivoting into said second position at the termination of said specified period of time, said delay means comprising a means for pivoting said release means member to a third position, said timing means being drivingly associated with said release means member so as to drive same from said third to said second and then to said first position successively at the recurrence of the termination of each said specified period of time, said blocking lever means remaining in said blocking position thereof in correspondence to said release means member being in all but the said first position of said release means member.

4. The mechanism of claim 3, said delay means comprising a means for pivoting said release means member to either a third, a fourth, or a fifth position, said timing means driving said release means member from the higher to the lower of said positions in successive steps each corresponding to the termination of a one said specified period of time.

5. The mechanism of claim 3, said release means comprising a pivoted gear sector having a number of spaced apart teeth a first of which is higher than the remaining of said teeth, said blocking lever means comprising a pivoted arm having a nose portion engageable between adjacent ones of said teeth and slidable along the surfaces thereof, a yieldable means continuously urging said pivoted arm in a direction whereby said nose is urged towards said teeth, said blocking lever means including a pivoted hook portion and said alarm sounding means including a stop means, said hook portion being pivotable into and out of blocking engagement with said stop means, said pivoted arm being drivingly associated with said hook means, the height of said first sector tooth being suflicient to cause complete disengagement of said hook portion from said stop means upon said pivoted arm nose portion sliding along said first tooth and the height of the remaining of said teeth being such that said hook portion and stop means remain at least partially engaged while said nose portion slides along any of said remaining teeth.

6. The mechanism of claim 5, said blocking lever means comprising a pivotable shaft having two axially spaced apart arms rigid therewith and extending perpendicular to the axis thereof, one of said arms being said pivoted arm and the other being an arm which includes said hook portion, said hook portion extending substantially perpendicular to the radial axis of said other arm, said alarm sounding means including a wheel having a number of circumferentially spaced stop members thereon, said hook arm being pivotable from a position where said hook engages between two adjacent ones of said stop members to a position where said hook is completely disengaged from therebetween.

7. The mechanism of claim 6, including a spring coiled about said shaft and having a free end portion which abuts said pivoted arm and thereby resiliently urges said arm and the nose thereon into engagement with said sector teeth.

8. The mechanism of claim 3, said means for pivoting said release means member to said third position comprising a manually operable member, said manually operable member being drivingly associated with said release means member to drive the latter from any lowermost position thereof to the next succeeding higher positions.

'9. The mechanism of claim 8, said release means member being pivotable to fourth and fifth positions thereof by said manually operable member.

10. The mechanism of claim 1, said release means comprising a pivoted gear sector having a plurality of spaced apart teeth, said other arm of said two armed lever comprising a spur drivingly engageable between said teeth, said spur driving said sector in correspondence to said two armed lever following the surface of said cam, said spur including oppositely disposed abutment and sliding surfaces, said abutment surface abuttingly contacting the front side of one of said teeth and thereby driving said sector in one direction in correspondence to said one arm of said two armed lever sliding radially along said cam shoulder, and said sliding surface slidingly contacting the rear side of the preceding tooth and thereby sliding to beneath the lower face of said preceding tooth and to the front side thereof in correspondence to said one are of said two armed lever sliding along the spiral surface of said cam, said spur thereby being in position to drivingly engage the front side of said preceding tooth at the next instance in which said one arm slides along said cam radial shoulder, said blocking lever means comprising a pivoted arm having a nose portion engageable between said teeth and slidable along the surfaces thereof, a yieldable means continuously urging said pivoted arm whereby said nose engages said teeth, said blocking lever means including a pivoted hook portion and said alarm sounding means including a stop means, said hook portion being pivotable into and out of blocking engagement with said stop means, said pivoted arm being drivingly associated with said hook means, movement of said sector in said one direction corresponding to a tooth thereon driving said pivoted arm in a direction corresponding to that in which said hook portion disengages from said stop means, a one of said sector teeth being sufliciently high to cause complete disengagement of said hook portion from said stop means and the other of said sector teeth being insufiiciently high to effect said complete disengagement.

11. The mechanism of claim 10, including a manually actuable control means for shutting off the alarm sounding means and for delaying the actuation of said sounding means for either of various multiples of said period of time, said manually actuable means comprising a pivoted control lever having a driving end which is is drivingly engageable with said sector upon pivoting of said Control lever, said one of said teeth being the first tooth on said sector and said control lever being adapted to pivotally drive said sector stepwise in a direction whereby said pivoted arm nose engages between the next pair of teeth further away from said first tooth for each actuation of said control lever, said sector being driven by said spur in one-tooth steps in the opposite direction for each recurrence of the termination of said period of time, said control lever driving end being adapted to engage said spur and displace it axially from between a pair of sector teeth to beneath that tooth of said pair which is nearest to said first tooth upon said control lever being manually actuated to drive said sector one step, said spur subsequently engaging between the next preceding pair of sector teeth upon said control lever completing its driving action upon said sector.

12. In an automatic alarm mechanism for a timepiece, a sounding mechanism comprising a sounding wheel and a hammer, a cam member rotatably driven by the movement of the timepiece, a connecting lever cooperating with said cam member, a blocking member movable between two positions and cooperating with the sounding mechanism to release the sounding wheel or to block the latter according to which of said positions it occupies, and a transmission member between said connecting lever and said blocking member, said transmission member being adjustable so as to be capable of being set in one of at least two adjacent rest positions, one of said positions being an alarm releasing position and being such that the transmission member urges the blocking member into the alarm releasing position upon actuation of said transmission member by the connecting lever, said transmis- References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,268,216 12/1941 Kramer 58-17 2,651,166 9/1953 Dorfman 5817 3,004,380 10/1961 Sidell et a1 58-21.155

STEPHEN J. TOMSKY, Primary Examiner EDITH C. SIMMONS, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 58-16 

